Fate's Favourite
by A. Alice-LaCasse
Summary: Thanks to accidental stroke of luck, Itachi and Kisame successfully capture Naruto. But when they realize that he is actually a she and has lost her memories...things get a little complicated. — [Itachi x Female Naruto]
1. Prologue: Truth

**-Fate's Favourite-**

**Prologue:** _Truth_

* * *

Itachi Uchiha was never open with anyone. Many even called him cold and detached from others to a point it was unhealthy. It wasn't a surprise, Itachi always had been above others, his skills and strength surpassing everyone else, and thus, separating him from people around him, both adults and children alike. He was a hero to his clan, their saviour and future leader; so, it was almost ironically cruel that he was the one who ended their lives. He killed the very ones who praised and boasted about his infinite abilities and skills that were unmatched by anyone.

He was, of course, called lucky by many. He was a genius, everyone looked up to him. He was an example to be followed by others. But, the cruel and bland truth was that there was no happiness in his life – there never had been. There was always that pressure of being the best, pushing yourself so hard it felt like your bones were about to break. If you weren't the best, you were nothing. That was one simple rule Uchiha clan lived by. At least that's how things were before he slaughtered them, all but one. His little brother.

Sasuke Uchiha, the only other surviving member of their clan beside Madara. The young boy who lived to kill him and was fuel by his never-ending hatred. Sasuke lived for revenge, and Itachi knew that it was going to be Sasuke's hand that will take his life one day.

Sometimes, Itachi wondered how much longer he still had left. He was more than aware that his time was slowly coming to an end, and oddly enough this realization soothed him. He was going to die by his brother's hand and finally find peace that he always craved for. He hoped – perhaps foolishly – that his brother would find peace too, even if he knew how unlikely that was. He knew that events of that night were going to haunt Sasuke forever, never completely gone from his mind, no matter how hard he may try to erase them. Itachi only hoped that Sasuke would not fall into Madara's dark web of lies and deceit. That was Itachi's one and only wish – Sasuke's happiness. Happiness that Itachi never knew or felt, and even if Sasuke continued to hate him forever, at least he would be happy, and as long as Sasuke was happy, Itachi would be happy too. Even in death.

After all, fate hated him.

With a vengeance.

And just for once, Itachi accepted it.

* * *

It was raining in Kumogakure. Not something unseen or very rare in the main city of Land of Lighting. The clouds were dark and thunder echoed around the mountains and rivers that adored the beautiful yet dangerous landscape. In far distance two figures emerged from a foggy path between mountains, both walking down a deserted road as rain started to fall heavily from the heavens.

The figure on the right was taller than the second, a huge sword sitting proudly on the man's back as he moved slightly ahead. A conical straw hat was hiding his features, a long back cloak with red clouds hiding the rest of his body as well. The smaller figure was wearing the same cloak and hat, except his deep scarlet eyes were watching the road before them dully, waiting to strike down anyone foolish enough try and make their move against them.

Two Akatsuki members, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, were traveling around the Land of Lighting trying to gather more information about Four-Tails current location. The information they had found so far informed them that Four-Tails was sealed into a man called Rōshi from Iwagakure. Upon learning this, two members of Akatsuki wasted no time and began their long journey. The weather was getting increasingly worse the further they went dwindling their speed substantially, making both men slightly irritated. They were used to bad weather conditions, especially rain since their main headquarters' were located in Amegakure, but it was still never pleasant to be travelling like this.

Suddenly, Kisame slowed down, before stopping completely. Itachi only took few steps before stopping as well, turning his head towards his partner.

"Itachi," Kisame said, gesturing towards a small mountain slope on their right. "We have company."

The two members were gone in a flash and seconds later they were on top of the hill, looking at the figure crawling on the ground, leaving a bloody trail behind them. The figure was heavily injured, multiple stab and cut wounds visible all over their body, blood gushing almost uncontrollably. But even from so far away it was clear that the wounds were gradually closing, the blood flow gradually decreasing the further they went. And even with the rain pouring thickly from the sky, there was no mistaking that orange clad figure and blond hair that was now covered in blood and dirt.

Naruto Uzumaki.

There was no doubt about it, but it did not explain why he was so far away from his home, alone and heavily injured.

Itachi always thought that there was something strange about that boy. His first suspicions arose when he confronted the blonde in that cheap hotel he was staying in with the legendary Sannin Jiraiya. Itachi was unable to confirm anything back then and was forced to flee. It had been almost three years since that day, and Itachi still found something amiss about the energetic demon host. There was something there, something Itachi couldn't see but he could feel it instead.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Naruto Uzumaki? Must be our lucky day, eh Itachi?" Kisame's loud voice proclaimed as he let out a slightly crazed chuckle. Itachi's red eyes watched as the blonde boy froze and quickly turned around, making blood gush from the wounds that were yet to heal.

"Who are you?"

Even though the rain made his voice sound weaker, two Akatsuki members heard him perfectly well. However they were both somewhat surprised by the boy's question. Didn't he know who they were? After all they've met before. Had he really forgotten that easily about them? It was hard to believe that anyone would forget people that were hunting them, no matter the circumstances.

There was a pregnant pause, Itachi's eyes narrowing as he replayed Naruto's words in his mind. There was something wrong with his voice. The words were softer, somehow, less chirper and obnoxious.

The blonde had cuts and scratches all over his face, a kunai clenched tightly in his hand as he stared at the two mysterious figures. Kisame laughed faintly, reaching for his sword, but Itachi's hand stopped him. He observed the alarmed and confused look on Naruto's face. His face…it was different too. It was softer, more feminine and smooth, lacking the usual cheerful smile and excited spark in his light blue eyes.

In a flash, Itachi was before the blonde, making him gasp in surprise and step back, only to be stopped as Itachi grabbed his wrist tightly, the metal kunai suddenly falling to the ground. Shock and fear were clear in his eyes, and Itachi tightened his grip on the boy. There was something wrong with him…something _very_ wrong.

"We're not here to hurt you," Itachi spoke, his voice the usual monotone. "We're here to help you," he explained quietly, ignoring the snort from amused Kisame that was still standing behind them.

Naruto stared at Itachi, straight into his blood red eyes, slight shiver racking through his petite body. That bothered him as well. Everyone always feared to look him straight in the eyes for obvious reasons. And Naruto was no different, so why was he staring in his eyes now, even if he already knew what his eyes were capable of. His eyes were his deadliest weapon, and Naruto stared into them as if he didn't cared or perhaps didn't know. Could it be possible that he didn't know? Perhaps he suffered a head injury that resulted in a temporary memory loss? It was unlikely but still very much possible, especially with how the young shinobi acted towards them.

No fear, no recollection, _nothing_.

It was like he was looking at them, but not really seeing them.

"How can I trust you?" Naruto whispered, his voice still hoarse and fearful.

_Trust…_

That word made Itachi pause. How could he make the blonde believe him?

"My name is Itachi."

It wasn't exactly what one may say to someone who just asked if they could trust them, but it was enough for Naruto as he stared blankly at Itachi, even though it looked like he was looking past him.

"Itachi…?"

The blonde repeated the name as if tasting it. There was nothing but confusion and frustration on the boy's face, it was like he was struggling with himself but kept failing.

"I…_I can't remember._ You seem familiar somehow…_your eyes_…" the boy trailed off, looking both tired and angered. Itachi knew that the boy was all out of chakra and was about to collapse any second, but his words made Itachi's eyes widen vaguely.

So, he was right, Naruto somehow lost his memories. But, how? That was the question that was most pressing at the moment. However, Itachi couldn't lie to himself, this situation was ideal. They had Naruto, utterly clueless about who he was. If there was ever a perfect opportunity to use, this was it.

The longer the boy thought, the more unbalanced and worn out he appeared, his soft face melting from one full of fear into one full of exhaustion in less than a second.

"Were…were you my… friend?" Naruto whispered, his words choppy from drowsiness. Itachi had no idea why the question bothered him. He didn't show it, but it did.

_Friend._

He honestly couldn't remember the last time someone called him their friend. But then, his mind flashed to Shisui's face and he realized that it'd been years. Long years of loneliness and blood, the same colour his cursed eyes were, the eyes that brought him nothing but despair, and sealed his fate forever.

"Yeah, kid. We're your friends," Kisame answered with wide sadistic smile on his face, saving Itachi from having to answer himself. If he was anyone else but a proud Uchiha, he probably would have sighed in relief.

Naruto's eyes flickered towards Kisame for a second, and he smiled in relief, his eyes brightening slightly.

"I'm… glad," he murmured quietly as his eyelids dropped and he stumbled. "I'm very…_glad_."

Naruto's eyes closed and he fell, but Itachi managed to grab him before he hit the cool and muddy ground. And at that moment, when the now unconscious body of Naruto fell into Itachi's arms, he realized why he always found something wrong about Naruto, why he was always so different. And most importantly, why he looked so unusual right at that moment.

When Naruto's body laid calmly in Uchiha's strong-arms, Itachi uncovered yet another secret about Naruto Uzumaki.

_He was a she._

* * *

**AN:** _Hello, peeps. As you may have noticed this story is now in progress of being rewritten. I've only had few chapters written but I ended up losing my inspiration for it, however I loved this idea too much to delete the story or put it on HIATUS. So, instead I decided to rewrite the first three chapters and restart this story again! Let's just say that Itachi's latest appearance in the anime helped a LOT. _

_Thank you for reading. And please, ask any questions if something's unclear. _

_Regards._

_A._


	2. Brave New World

**-Fate's Favourite-**

**Act 1:** _Brave New World_

* * *

_Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me._

_Lying on the floor surrounded, surrounded._

_Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?_

_Just a little late, you found me, you found me._

_-The Fray_

* * *

Itachi and Kisame returned to Amegakure three days later.

A still unconscious Naruto was with them, carried over Kisame's right shoulder as they entered the Akatsuki base. The boy…—girl, hadn't woken up since the day they found her in Kumogakure. She seemed healthy, most of her wounds had healed a long time ago – no doubt, thanks to Kyuubi's extraordinary healing powers. She looked wore down and pale, but otherwise fine.

Kisame had, unsurprisingly, hard time believing that that Naruto was a girl, and the entire time they were traveling back, he kept muttering under his breath, wondering how this was possible. Itachi too was interested how something like this could have happened. Was Naruto always a girl and the fact was hidden? Or was this a side effect of some jutsu going terribly wrong? If Naruto was always a girl, why would people hide this fact? In the end, there were too many questions to be answered and with Naruto clearly not remembering anything, it was unlikely they were going to get any answers anytime soon.

In fact, Itachi doubted that the girl would even live see another day, considering that the moment the Akatsuki Leader learned about their findings, her demon would be extracted, and she would undoubtedly die. Itachi was almost positive about this fact and the sooner they began the process the sooner it would be over. Life would go on as usual.

Upon their entrance they found that the caves of Akatsuki base were still as damp and dark as always. The entire underground tunnel maze smelled of mold and death. There wasn't much space either, only two people having enough space to walk through the passageway at the same time. To most people, living under these conditions would seem atrocious, but to people like Itachi, it was better than nothing. He didn't spend much time in here anyway, almost always traveling around with Kisame or by himself. Sometimes they got lazy days when the members were allowed to relax for few days. And even though the base was dull, it was still, what many considered, their home.

Regardless of time he spend here, Itachi never considered Akatsuki base his home, and the fellow members his family. Actually, Itachi didn't even see them as his friends or acquaintances, they were more like enemies, and most of the time he had to watch his back since everyone in the Akatsuki had nasty tempers, especially when angered. Which, dully enough, was quite often.

By the time Itachi and Kisame reached their Leader's office, they had received more than one odd look from the subordinates working under Akatsuki. It must have been a sight to see: two of the most feared members of Akatsuki walking with small blonde girl slung over their shoulder.

They paused before a dark brown door that was large enough for three people to walk in at the same time. Itachi knocked twice before a curl "Come in" reached their ears. Grasping the metal doorknob, Itachi gave it a firm push, making the old door creak under pressure. Kisame walked in first, followed closely by Itachi who was staring at the shadowy figure before them.

"You two are back early," the Akatsuki leader said, his voice deep yet monotone. "And I see you came back with an extra person on your hands," he added, his eyes flickering to the orange dressed figure that was still on Kisame's shoulder.

"That's right," Kisame said, small grin on his face as he threw the girl off his shoulder and dropped her on the ground not-so-gently. "Uzumaki Naruto, sir. However, there is something we were unaware about him…or should I say her."

The leader watched the young girl before him with deadly intensity, almost like he was trying to see right through her skin, and decide what he wanted do with her afterwards.

"Hm. Well, isn't this an interesting development," Pain mussed, a dark chuckle escaping him, "It seems that there is still a lot we didn't know about our little Nine-tails host."

Kisame glanced at the blonde and nodded, silently agreeing. It took around 10 more minutes for Kisame to finish his report, retelling every detail about how they managed to capture Naruto. Itachi remained quite during that time, choosing to stare at the dark crack on the wall instead. Their leader was silent as well, peering at Kisame as he listened to the tale. There was a short silence when Kisame finished.

"Should we get ready for the—"

"No."

Kisame blinked at the sharp order. Itachi moved, his eyes narrowing slightly as they flickered towards the girl and then to Pain. What could he possibly be thinking? Shouldn't they at least confine the girl before she woke up? There was truly no telling what may happen once she woke up, she may remember her past and realize exactly where she was.

"Leave us."

"Sir?" Kisame questioned, not sure if he should just obey or ask few questions first.

"I want to check her body for any jutsu marks," Pain explained briefly, plainly irritated for being questioned. "I also want to seal off her chakra in case she wakes up and tries to escape. Now leave, I will call you back when I need you," he finished off, his words a clear dismissal, silently warning both Itachi and Kisame that there should be no more questions asked.

Itachi was the first one to move, turning around he silently moved towards the door, Kisame close behind him.

"Itachi-san? Kisame-san?"

The two figures stopped, glancing back at their leader who gave them a dark grin.

"Well done, you did good."

Kisame grinned and the elder Uchiha nodded mutely, acknowledging their leader's praise.

And just before the door closed, Itachi caught one last fleeting glance of the blonde demon host, and an uneasy feeling settled in his gut.

Something was wrong.

* * *

It was a beautiful and sunny day in Konoha, the birds were chirping happily in the trees, people were cheerfully walking around the streets lost in their mindless chatter, ignorant of many dangers that lurked behind Konoha's walls.

The Hokage's tower was unusually silent that morning. A silver-haired Jōnin by the name of Hatake Kakashi was standing limply in a large room, facing a blonde haired woman before him. Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, and the only female from the legendary Sannin of Konoha, stared at the bandaged man before her with unusual seriousness reflecting in her brown eyes. There was a long beat of silence before they began talking.

"What happened Kakashi?"

The question was so simple, and yet, to Kakashi it was probably the hardest question anyone had asked him in a very long time. Kakashi's visible eye lowered to the ground before rising again.

"I honestly don't know myself," he said and after another pause he added. "I have never seen anything like it."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly as she glared at the silver-haired man. "Naruto is missing. How about you explain how that happened first."

"Just like appointed, we delivered the scroll you requested to the Land of Lighting without any problems," Kakashi began, leaning against his crutches. "The mission was an obvious success and we were heading home when we were ambushed. The ninjas that attacked us weren't wearing any headbands, so I had no idea where they came from or what their intentions were, but from the very start they seemed determined to get Naruto separated from us. My first thoughts were that maybe Akatsuki had something to do with it, but it seemed unlikely since at least one member would have been present to collect Naruto if they somehow succeeded."

Tsunade nodded, agreeing with Kakashi's observation. If two full-fledged members were unable to capture Naruto few years ago, it seemed doubtful they would be stupid enough to send few subordinates to capture a Tailed-beast. Tsunade nodded her head for Kakashi to continue and after a painful intake of breath he did.

"We were doing just fine, the enemies weren't exactly the most powerful group, we all had faced stronger enemies before," he said, his eye suddenly narrowing. "That is, until a man appeared out of nowhere; he wore a cloak so I didn't see his face, but I immediately knew he was the leader since he was the strongest."

"A man?" Tsunade questioned with a small frown tugging her lips. Kakashi gave a curt nod and began talking again.

"Yes, this man was completely different from the others," Kakashi's tone lost all of it previous laziness and turned almost sharp as the image of the dark cloaked man seemingly flashed before his eyes. "He did something to us, some sort of jutsu I've never seen before, in drained our chakra completely, leaving us incapable of defending ourselves. But, it was Naruto that he wanted the most. He was absolutely fixated with him, almost obsessively so. Talking about coming back and returning to the way things were. That's when it got weird. He did another jutsu, capturing Naruto in a sphere. Naruto of course tried to break it but it was useless, we tried to help but with our chakra drained and other ninja holding us back, we were of little help."

Kakashi's eye lowered to the ground once again, and it was clear to Tsunade that Kakashi was blaming himself for this to some degree.

"The process only lasted few minutes," he continued, his voice a bit more hallow than before. "When the light faded, Naruto was released and he looked absolutely fine, minus the battle wounds. He even laughed at the cloaked man and said that he was going down if that's the best he could do. However, before Naruto managed to take a single step towards him, he fell to the ground and began screaming. He's whole body was convulsing and twitching, I don't think I've ever seen him in so much pain…" the Jōnin trailed off, obviously still disturbed by the memory.

"What happened after that?"

Kakashi looked up in, his eyes narrowing. Why was Tsunade acting like she wasn't surprised by this? Could she have known?

"Why wasn't I told that Naruto was a female?" Kakashi demanded, it was hard to believe that something so important was guarded from him for all these years. Not many things could get past him, but this was so well hidden he didn't even get suspicious, not ever. He was Naruto's mentor, and he had no idea that his student was a female until the moment she disappeared.

Tsunade sighed, briefly closing her eyes. "Because it was a secret, no one beside the Hokages knew of this. It was one of Konoha's most well guarded secrets. The only person on the outside who knew of this was Jiraiya, since he is the closest thing Naruto has to a relative."

"I still don't see why you had to wait until something like this happened before I was told anything."

Tsunade glare intensified, and she gave Kakashi a stern look. "Enough, Kakashi. I have no need to explain myself to you. It was a secret I was supposed to guard until the day I died. Surely, you can understand why."

Kakashi lowered his head in respect; it was incredibly rare for him to become so irritable. But Naruto was his student and regardless if she was a boy or a girl, he still cared for her all the same.

"I apologize, I acted out of order. But can I ask why was this done? Does Naruto even know?"

Tsunade shook her head. "No, she's not aware, the henge was put on her the moment the Nine-Tailed fox was sealed in her."

Kakashi pondered this for a moment. "But why? Why change her, why not leave her to grow up as a girl?"

"It's quite simple really," Tsunade explained, gazing evenly at Kakashi. "Even though girls tend to be stronger mentally, boys are stronger physically. In this case Naruto was still a baby, so she needed more physical strength if she was to hold the Kyuubi in her body. The council also thought that it would be safer for Naruto to be a boy."

"So the Council did this to her," Kakashi asked, unable to keep annoyance seeping into his voice. Tsunade confirmed his statement by nodding her head once again. "Too bad it didn't really change anything, Naruto was still shunned by the villagers."

Tsunade's eyes shimmered with guilt and she heaved a tired sigh. "Yes, you are right, it didn't do much. However, what really worries me is the fact that this man – whoever he was – knew of such a ancient technique."

"I don't think I understand."

Tsunade dejectedly rubbed her head, leaning back against her chair, it was rare spectacle to see, the feared Hokage so serious and jaded. Very few people had ever seen this side of her and only on serious situations like this one.

"That henge was a secret. A forbidden technique that very few knew of, it was too dangerous to perform. It was only used on the times of great need, and only on extremely important cases. That henge was meant to be permanent. In other words, Naruto was destined to live her life as a male and never learn the truth."

Kakashi listen with interest, trying to tie everything together and get the answer he was looking for.

"So if it was so secret and forbidden how did this man know of it? And why would he take Naruto somewhere else and seconds later come back to us and tell us to stop looking for her?"

Tsunade glanced up sharply, her brown eyes showing her surprise. "He told you that?"

Kakashi nodded.

"I believe there is another problem we might face," Tsunade told, lowering her chin on her hands that were folded before her, her elbows resting on her wooden table. "I'm almost sure that Naruto has lost her memories."

"What?" Kakashi asked, shock clear on his face.

"The henge was like camouflage, masking Naruto's real mind," Tsunade began another explanation. "Since the henge was performed when she was little infant she has no real memories. The life she lived was a lie, it wasn't her that was living it, instead it was a clone that was made from her. When the henge broke so did the memories, however, a powerful technique like that one leaves scars on the mind. There is still a chance that she might regain her memories with time, but there is also a big possibility that she will never fully recover."

"This is bad," Kakashi concluded, letting fleeting look of worry pass across his face. "If she doesn't remember us and is heavily injured she will be easy to manipulate. She will have no idea who's a friend and who is an enemy. She will be like a child. And if someone from Akatsuki or Orochimaru come across her first, then…"

Tsunade gave Kakashi a solemn look. He didn't have to finish that sentence, everyone knew what would happen to Naruto if she fell into the wrong hands. Nothing but death awaited her, and with no memories or knowledge of how to defend herself, she would be dead in a matter of seconds.

"I'm going to leave immediately," Kakashi said, turning around he moved towards the door.

"Stop," Tsunade ordered sharply, making Kakashi freeze. "You are far too injured to leave. Sakura only woke up few hours ago and Sai is at home, taking care of his wounds. You don't honestly expect me to just allow you to leave like nothing's wrong."

Kakashi clenched his fist. "So, you expect me to just sit here and wait for something bad happen to her?" he asked, once again moving towards the door.

"Kakashi," Tsunade snapped. Kakashi looked over his shoulder and saw almost pleading look in her eyes. "I care for Naruto just as much as you do. I already send ANBU to search for her. You are far too injured to leave Konoha yet, but I promise, if by the time you recover Naruto is not back, I will give you all the resources you may needed to find her."

There was a beat of silence as Kakashi mulled this over before nodding.

"Fine," he said at last. "Three days. If she's not back in three days, I'm leaving even if you don't want me to."

With that, the door opened and closed with an eerie thud, leaving the troubled Hokage alone in her office.

* * *

"Did I make myself clear?"

The voice of Akatsuki leader rang loudly in Kisame's and Itachi's ears. Two men stood in darkness, Pain watching them as they absorbed the information they were given. The new task they were entrusted with.

"Sir? Are you being serious?" Kisame asked, his voice betraying his disbelief. He was having hard time masking his surprise and shock, unlike Itachi who looked the same even though he too was surprised by the new task they were given.

"Yes," Pain said seriously, never taking his eyes off the two members before him. "You are, from this day onwards, responsible for Naruto Uzumaki. The fact that she has no memories can be of huge advantage to us. Without the Kyuubi, Konoha has suffered a great loss. We can use Naruto to capture the other Tailed-beast's and extract her demon last."

Itachi listened intently, absorbing the words with veiled interest. It was obvious that there was more to this little plan. Whatever the real reason for Naruto staying in the Akatsuki base was, Pain was obviously trying to hold back the information. There was something going on and Itachi didn't like it.

"Everyone in the base has been informed and you two are to report immediately if she starts to regain her memories," Pain said, authority ringing in his voice, daring either of them to disobey his orders. "Itachi I also want you to train her, she has to be useful to us, and in her currently weakened state she will more like a burden," he added, catching Uchiha's gaze.

Kisame stared in disbelief as Itachi gave barley visible nod, his face still as stoic as always.

"Since the girl is at her weakest right now, I want you two to gain her trust," Pain instructed and Kisame looked slightly disgusted by the idea, he glanced at Itachi who showed no reaction. "She has to be completely loyal to Akatsuki."

"Sir, why us?"

Pain's eyes landed on Kisame. "Because this task is of great importance and failure is not an option. I hope you two will make sure that this mission doesn't end up as such."

Kisame looked annoyed but reluctantly agreed and Itachi gave his approval after a small pause.

"Dismissed."

Both men left the room without a backwards glance and when they exited the corridor where their leader's office was stationed, Kisame finally questioned Itachi.

"Why did you agree?"

"Why not," Itachi countered, his gaze focused on the damp path before him. "Leader-sama obviously wanted us to complete this mission for a reason."

"Yeah, but you hate people you don't know, actually it's more like you hate everybody."

That was a lie. Itachi didn't hate everybody. He simply grew up being mostly alone and always training, trying to keep his title as one of the best ninja Konoha has ever produced. He didn't have time for petty things like friends and romance. That's exactly the reason why he always preferred being alone and talked only when necessary. Itachi firmly believed that actions spoke louder than words. Many believed him to be a coldblooded murder and Itachi knew that he was. There was a lot of blood on his hands and he knew he was damned to burn in hell for the rest of eternity for it. And even then, Itachi was many things, but evil was not one of them. He might be cold, aloof, a murder, and one of the most wanted criminals in the world, but he was not evil. He had emotions, he felt pain and loss, loneliness and suffering just like any other human being did, the only difference between them and him was the fact that he never allowed his feelings overshadow his judgment.

Itachi Uchiha was never at the mercy of his emotions, he dominated them.

That's why he was so powerful, that's why everyone cowered in fear from the mere mention of his name. But just because he never showed his emotions didn't mean he didn't have them. He still loved. He still feared. He still worried. He still mourned. Always alone, never seen, never heard. One thing was for sure; Itachi did not hate everybody.

He just found them all useless most of the time.

"Let's go. We need to meet our newest member." He said as he and Kisame disappeared into the darkness with a flutter of their black cloaks.

* * *

She had no idea where she was.

When her eyes slowly opened the only thing she could see was a dark ceiling before her. A small moan escaped her lips as she rolled over, trying to determine where she was. The room was big, few white beds were placed around the room with few white cupboards hanging on the walls. Two big tables stood on different sides of the room, the surface covered with many medical instruments and notes.

She was in infirmary, she realized dully, her eyes moving around the room. She felt like she was run over by something heavy. Her mind foggy and blank, she couldn't remember anything at all. It was frightening.

"So you're finally awake, huh?"

Naruto jumped up, and immediately regretted her decision when pain washed over her body, making her cough thickly, and small droplets of blood fall from her parted lips. A pair of strong arms steadied her and she moved away, looking at the stranger before her.

It was a girl. She looked to be in her late teens, her short black hair brushing her chin, her eyes staring at Naruto with cold impassiveness. They were around same height, Naruto figured, moving sluggishly across the bed. The girl's skin was pale and she looked unusually serious, her expression calm as she watched Naruto struggle meekly.

"If you are done trying to kill yourself, lay back down, you need to rest," the dark haired girl instructed, gently nudging her back. Naruto gave a weak nod and laid down, still watching the girl as she walked towards a huge table and took a cup, pouring some clear liquid into it. She stared at the girl suspiciously when she walked closer to her bed and pushed the small cup into her hands.

"Drink."

It wasn't a request, it was an order. Naruto's face hardened as her eyes moved to glance at the cup in her hands. What if it was poison?

"Oh, kami…It's water! I'm not going to poison you, alright?" Naruto blinked at the girl's outburst, she had quite the temper, but Naruto still lifted the cup to her lips, and took a small sniff before tasting the water. The moment cool water touched her chapped lips, she realized just how thirsty she really was. Drinking every single drop of water inside the cup, she shoved it back into girl's waiting hands, silently begging for more. The girl rolled her eyes but complied and seconds later returned with another glass, this time full to the brim. Naruto greedily drank the water inside again, the cup once again empty in a matter of seconds.

"Slow down," the girl commanded even though her light green eyes flashed with amusement for a brief second. "It's not healthy to have such a quick intake of water after going for so long without it."

Naruto slumped against the cot for few more minutes, letting everything sink in as she took deep calming breaths, her eyes closed, making her look almost serene.

"W-who are you?" she croaked, her voice still hoarse.

"You can call me Tamaki," the girl introduced herself, moving her hands towards her, making them glow light blue. She jumped with a gasp, another tremor of pain flashing through her body.

"What are you doing? Stay still if you want to continue on living," Tamaki demanded, pushing her down.

"What's h-happening to your hands?" she whispered in horror, staring at Tamaki's glowing hands. It seemed familiar, like she's seen it before, like someone else was able to that, a long time ago.

"I'm trying to heal you," she answered, irritation reflecting in her pale eyes. "Now stop squirming, I know you lost your memories, so it will take some time to get used to this. Don't worry, though someone will help you to remember how to be a ninja again. Your training should start the moment you're released from here."

"Ninja?" she asked quietly as Tamaki's pale hands travelled down her body, making her relax a little. "I was a ninja?"

Tamaki nodded briefly, focusing on her task instead.

"Itachi?" she suddenly asked fearfully, her blue eyes flashing anxiously. "Where is he? Where is Itachi?"

Tamaki just gave her annoyed look for being interrupted. "He's not here," she said boringly.

"I need him here… he's my friend. Where is he? Please…bring him here."

Tamaki gave her a look as if not sure if she should be laughing at her or calling her crazy. "_Friend?_ Are you sure we're talking about the same Itachi?"

She blinked in confusion, not sure what her healer meant. Before she could voice her confusion the door to Infirmary flew open. A familiar figure with a black cloak and red eyes was standing at the entrance, a familiar man with blue skin hovering behind him.

Naruto almost sighed in relief, glad to see a familiar faces.

"_Itachi!_" she said happily, smiling cheerfully at the duo that entered the room quietly. Tamaki looked at her like she was insane, Kisame looked taken aback and Itachi simply stared.

"Your services are no longer required, Tamaki. _Leave_." Itachi instructed coolly, his gaze still locked on the confused blond as she watched Tamaki give a small bow.

"Yes, Itachi-sama."

Naruto blinked, the girl who was so openly scolding her few minutes ago now look like an obedient puppy, bowing to her master. It also didn't escape her notice that Tamaki avoided looking at Itachi directly at all costs. And even though she did not say anything, she couldn't help but to wonder why. Naruto had to admit that there was something dark and dangerous about the red-eyed man. His presence was dark, almost suffocating in its intensity, and it felt like he could burn her with just one look, making it hard to breath while he was in the same room.

Tamaki spared her another look and was out of the door before she could even question her. The door closed behind her with a soft thud, leaving her with Itachi and Kisame.

"Itachi where am I? Is this your home?"

Itachi gave no answer so Kisame did it for him. "We are in the Akatsuki base. I guess you could say it's our home. I'm Kisame by the way."

She nodded, pulling herself up so she could sit in a more comfortable position. "Thank you. I'm so glad you two found me. I can't remember anything; I was terrified, still am."

"That's fine, you're safe here, little girl," Kisame said, moving around Itachi so she could see him better. Naruto glared at Kisame, letting out a small huff.

"I'm not little!"

Kisame smirked darkly, amused by the girls childishness. "Is that so?"

She nodded. "Yeah, fish-man."

Kisame's smirk turned into a glare. "I'm not a fish, you little brat."

"Really? Could have fooled me," Naruto smirked proudly when she noticed Kisame grit his teeth. "Calm down, fish-man."

Kisame opened his mouth to resort back when Itachi cut him off.

"_Enough_," he said, the very tone of his voice forcing her mouth shut instantly. "You are to stay in the base until you are properly trained and manage to regain your memories. We work in teams of two and our leader decided that it would for the best if you to stay with us, so be prepared to train and fight with us in the near future."

She fumbled with her quilt nervously, listening to Itachi talk.

Until she was trained? She'll be doing missions? She was glad that at least she would be with Itachi and Kisame, but she had long way to go before she would be able to do missions. At least until her training was complete. Which was probably going to take a while, considering she couldn't remember anything at all.

"So, erm, who will be training me?" she asked anxiously, her eyes switching between Kisame and Itachi, waiting for one of them to give her an answer. Kisame suddenly smirked arrogantly, looking pleased about something.

"Me," Itachi said blandly, giving her a piercing look that made her insides flutter nervously. "From this day onwards I am your teacher."

And from Kisame's smug grin and the cold look Itachi was giving her, she knew one thing was for certain:

She was doomed.

* * *

**AN:** _Bonjour! My dears! Hope you all liked this chapter and it hopefully answered some of your questions and if not don't be afraid to ask. This chapter was fun one I have to admit, and this is where things really start to take off, even though next chapter may be a bit slow still._

_Also one of many things that always bothered me about Akatsuki was the fact that they don't have a medic. I mean, someone really good who actually specialises in healing, like Sakura. Even if they are incredibly strong criminals, they still have to have a medic, right? It just always rubbed me the wrong way that they never had one because it made them all look a little shallow and arrogant - which some of them are anyway - but not to such extent. Thus, I created Tamaki, hopefully you like her! _

_Also, English is not my first language so pardon any mistakes you may see or find, and let me know if you do spot them. _

_Thank you for reading!_

_Regards._

**_A._**


	3. The Akatsuki

**-Fate's Favourite-**

**Act 2:** _The Akatsuki_

* * *

_When we first came here, _

_We were cold and we were clear._

_With no colours in our skin,_

_We were light and paper thin._

_-Florence The Machine _

* * *

For three days she was forbidden to leave the bed she woke up in. Katsumi's orders were strict and there was no talking back or trying to get your way around the situation. According to Katsumi, her body was adjusting to its changes, which meant that her entire chakra channelling system unstable.

It took some time and explaining what chakra even was, but Naruto eventually found out just how bad her condition was when her muscles began burning painfully, and her body went into a painful seizure that last seemingly forever. Not to mention random and very excruciating chakra flares that according to Katsumi were extremely dangerous not only to her but those around her as well.

The fact that she had no memories whatsoever didn't help her to feel better either, especially since every single time she tried to remember anything from her previous life, she only succeeded in giving herself a rather painful headache.

On the fourth day, Katsumi came in early like usual, casting a lingering look at the figure huddled inside the bed covers.

Naruto was a hard person to wake-up in the mornings, something Kasumi had learned the hard way when she had to dodge multiple kicks and punches coming from the still sleepy girl everyday.

"Naruto! Wake up!" Katsumi shouted loudly, shaking the said girl on the shoulder. Naruto mumbled something under her breath, pulling the covers even tighter around herself, her face buried in the soft material.

Katsumi gritted her teeth, closing her eyes in frustration. The dark haired kunoichi swiftly pulled the covers off her new friend, earning a small shriek from the blond as cold air hit her exposed skin. Blue eyes snapped open immediately and glared angrily at the medic as Katsumi gave her a satisfied smirk.

"Get up," she ordered sternly, "We need to go through your daily check-up, and if everything is fine you will be leavening today and starting your training tomorrow."

Naruto perked up, quickly sitting up; her blond hair falling around her, making it look like she hadn't brushed it in weeks.

"Really? I can go?" she whispered, her excitement tangible, a huge smile spreading on her face.

Katsumi rolled her eyes and nodded. "Yes, just don't forget what I taught you in the last few days, alright?"

Naruto didn't reply, she didn't need to. Over last three days, Katsumi had been telling her more about the Akatsuki; the way they operated, their purpose, the people that were in the organization and how to act around certain individuals if she wanted to survive.

The actual Akatsuki only consisted of ten members who all wore rings on their fingers, signifying their membership. Katsumi made it very clear that the original ten were people you shouldn't mess around with at any point in time, especially if you still wanted to find your limb attached to your body the next day. They were all well known and feared S-ranked criminals who were brutal in getting what they wanted, and if they wanted you dead, there was no doubt that they would eventually succeed.

However, there were others who worked for Akatsuki as well. There weren't many, only a selected few who were strong enough to be working under such a powerful organization, but it didn't mean that they were any less dangerous. Each subordinate had to prove their skills and use for the organization before they were allowed to join in hopes that one day they would be able to make the top ranks.

As Katsumi had told her, something similar had happened just few weeks ago, when one of the Original 10 was killed. His name was Sasori and he was a puppet master from Suna. Apparently, he was killed during a mission to retrieve One-Tailed beast, Shukaku. Soon after his death, their leader chose one of the submarines to take Sasori's place and everyone had to live on like nothing happened.

One thing was clear to Naruto:

You were only alive for as long as you were useful.

Katsumi also made it clear that there was absolutely nobody in this organization that was irreplaceable.

Admittedly, she had a hard time trying to figure out why she even joined such organization. Sure, their plan for world peace seemed nice, but their methods also seemed incredibly cruel. They were the type to strike first and ask questions later. Which left Naruto wondering why she wanted to join them right before she lost her memories, she even asked Katsumi but she simply replied that prior to these last few days she never met Naruto before, at least not face-to-face.

"Naru, stop spacing out!" Katsumi snapped, whacking the blonde on the head. Naruto let out a small hiss, sending Katsumi another glare. Even with her anger issues Katsumi was a very nice girl, and an exceptionally skilled healer too.

"I'm just thinking…" Naruto murmured under her breath, trying to ignore the annoying poking and prodding at her body.

The dark haired medic smiled briefly after she finished. "I think you're good to go, just remember don't overwork yourself for the next few days, you're still healing."

Naruto waved off the worried medic and jumped on her feet, flinching at the slight pain that still burned her muscles.

"Who cares? Let's go and find something to eat. I'm _starving_!"

Katsumi shook her head while heaving a tired sigh but nodded nevertheless, slowly following the happy blonde from the infirmary.

They walked in silence for few minutes, Katsumi watching with mild interest as Naruto slowly took everything in: the surroundings, the smell, and the noises. She could tell by the scrunched up expression, and the rather visible scowl on young girl's face that Naruto wasn't very impressed.

"This place isn't very lively, is it?" the blonde stated dryly, looking around with obvious discontent.

Katsumi chuckled lowly, patting the younger girl's shoulder. "No, this place isn't very lively at all, but you get used to it after a while."

"A while?" Naruto repeated, casting a sideways glance at Katsumi. "Just how long have you been here, Kat?"

The medic's face suddenly turned to stone, her eyes resembling ice – her guard snapping back up full force, and Naruto had an urge to smack herself across the face. After trying to befriend her medic for the last few days, she felt like she just lost the smallest hint of friendship the two may had going by asking that single questions.

"Long enough," Katsumi replied coolly, walking slightly faster ahead. Naruto quickly caught up, biting her lip in discomfort.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," she whispered, staring at the murky ground beneath her feet. "I guess I was just curious, since you know so much about this place."

"Akatsuki is a very dangerous group, Naru," Katsumi explained, her expression darker than usually. "Never show them weakness, for they will attack you like rabid dogs and leave nothing behind. And _never_, under any circumstances, give them a reason to kill you."

"I wasn't planning on it," Naruto assured her, her eyes sparkling with determination.

Katsumi nodded silently, and led Naruto to a huge set of double doors by the end of a dark corridor. There were obviously people inside, since the sound of talking could be heard before the door was even opened. Naruto felt her interest grow as she wondered was behind the doors.

Katsumi, almost as if reading her mind, pushed the double doors open, entering the huge room before them. Naruto held her breath for a second and then entered after Katsumi, stopping almost immediately after she noticed the sheer size of the room; it was huge. There were at least six huge wooden tables around the room; most of seats were taken as Naruto took the notice of people sitting behind the benches. Most of them witnessing their arrival, sneered, especially at Naruto as they walked further into the room. Katsumi subconsciously moved closer to the blonde, leading her towards the end of a huge room where the smell of fresh food was the strongest.

"This is where we eat our meals, there is around 30 subordinates here, not counting the primary 10," Katsumi told her, putting some food on her plate, passing another one to Naruto. "I'll also warn you now that most of them have not taken well to your presence as you can already tell," she added, her voice dropping to near whisper.

"Why?" Naruto asked curiously, quickly glancing around the room, never keeping her eyes too long on one face. Most were men with auras that leaked of killing intent, and the remaining few were females although she could only spot few, not counting herself and Katsumi.

"It's because of who you are." Katsumi stated, dragging the blonde to the table near the end, mostly hidden in the shadows.

"What do you mean?"

Katsumi heaved a sigh, her eyes moving around the room, taking in the tense atmosphere.

"You're Itachi's student."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, giving Katsumi a strange look. "What does that have anything to do with them glaring at me?"

"You don't understand, do you?" she hissed under her breath, shaking her head slightly. "This never happened before. A member of primary 10 has never taken anyone under their wing before. Most of the people in this room are, to put it lightly, pissed off. They have been training for years to work their way up the chain, and you just came out nowhere few days ago, and Leader-sama is already acknowledging you so highly."

She slumped against her seat. It made sense, of course, she would be mad too if some new person just came out of nowhere and got the special treatment for no reason.

"Not to mention pretty much everyone in this room hates Itachi. However, even though they hate him, they also respect him, because they know that he could kill them in a blink of an eye."

Gulping, Naruto looked up from her food and stared at Katsumi, feeling of anxiety eating her from the inside.

"Is he really _that_ powerful?"

"Yes," Katsumi answered flatly, an all too familiar coldness seeping into her words. "He is a cause of many nightmares for shinobis all over these lands. He is also the only reason why you're still alive."

Naruto blinked. "He is?"

The dark haired girl nodded her head. "No one has tried to get rid of you yet because they fear that Itachi may find out about it. That's why I recommend that you train hard, and gain your skills back as quickly as you can."

"But you just said that they wouldn't—"

"Make no mistakes," Katsumi cut her off, sharply. "At some point in the near future there will be someone stupid enough to go against leader's orders, and when that time comes, you will have no one but yourself to depend on. I told you, never give them a free opening or you _will _die."

A heavy silence fell over the two kunoichis and Naruto could barely remember how she survived the rest of the meal.

* * *

After showing her the room she was going to be staying in, Katsumi disappeared saying she had important matters to take care of, leaving the blonde alone to her thoughts.

Her room was average looking: a bed, a table, wardrobe, few chairs, and absolutely no sunlight whatsoever. The room itself was dull and dark, causing Naruto to shiver and pull her jacket tighter over her body. Sighing in tiredness, she approached her new bed and fell on it, smiling slightly as she bounced few times. Well at least the beds were alright.

She had no idea what she could do to kill time, so she simply laid there, letting her body relax as she began thinking about her none-existent past again. Naruto couldn't get over the fact that she somehow forgot everything about herself. All of her childhood memories, even her own personality – she couldn't remember anything, not even her likes and dislikes.

It frightened her.

What kind of person was she before? Was she nice? Mean? Did she have any friends or none at all? Part of her was too afraid to even wonder but she wanted to know, no matter who she was before all of this, it was still better knowing something than nothing at all.

A sudden crash and shouts outside made her sit up, and look towards the door in surprise. Katsumi had told her that her room was next to Itachi's and Kisame's since they were a team now, and Itachi was her teacher. So Naruto honestly doubted that either of the two men were the ones causing all the ruckus. Pulling her body from off the bed, Naruto carefully walked towards the door and gradually opened them, peaking outside to see people responsible for all this noise.

There was a sudden 'whoosh' of air, and the only thing she saw was someone running past her so quickly that is appeared like a blur of orange, black and red. Managing to blink few times, she heard a sound of footsteps quickly approaching her.

"TOBI!" a loud voice roared, seemingly shaking the very foundation of the base.

Naruto cringed at the angry voice. Katsumi had told her about a guy called Tobi; he was Sasori's replacement, one lucky guy who got chosen as an alternative by the Leader himself – there was no bigger honour for a member of Akatsuki than being recognized like that.

She backed away slightly when she noticed an angry blonde stalking down the hallway, looking so angry that Naruto felt like running away from him so he wouldn't have to direct his rage at her. And judging by the colour of his hair, the black cloak and the fact that he was with Tobi meant that he could only be one person.

Deidara.

_Crap. Crap. Crap._

She could almost hear Katsumi's voice in her ear as she told her about the blonde bomber:

_"You'll have to watch out for Deidara, since he will most likely dislike you simply because Itachi is your teacher. He hated Itachi for as long as I can remember; however, he may still give you a chance to prove yourself. The first 5 minutes will be crucial, he will either like you, or he will try to blow you up just to piss off Uchiha."_

Naruto gulped uneasily, the last thing she expected to happen was her meeting a guy who was ready to turn her into ash if she said something wrong to him.

The said missing-nin seemingly feeling her nervousness, glanced her way, his eyes flashing in recognition.

"You," he snapped, pointing his finger towards her, successfully freezing her in her tracks. Her blue eyes growing wider, she reminded herself that he didn't have any reason to kill her…yet. "Have you seen a guy with an orange mask run past here, un?"

"Erm…yeah," she said, blinking few times, trying to hide her smile at the rather cute 'un'. "He ran past here just before you appeared."

Swallowing thickly, she tried not to squirm under his intense stare – no doubt he was inspecting her, trying to find a good reason to hate her.

"You're the new member, yeah? Uchiha's new student?" his voice was a little sharper, especially when he mentioned Itachi, an undeniable hint of hatred leaking into his voice.

Nodding awkwardly, she took a step away from her door, standing straighter, hoping that this showed him that she was not afraid of him. Even if she was more than aware that she was walking a thin line. She knew that Deidara didn't have biggest reserves of patience and was rather temperamental most of the time.

"Yes, my name is Naruto, but you can call me Naru." she provided, giving him a small, and hopefully, friendly smile. Deidara's visible eye stared at her, almost as if trying to see into her very soul, a smallest hint of a frown adoring his features, showing his obvious frustration about something.

"What do you think art is?"

Ah, the golden question at last.

_"Deidara is an artist. You could say he's obsessed with explosives, in his mind 'Art is a bang'. He will no doubt ask your option on art. My advice: be honest. He may be young, but Deidara has a knack for reading peoples emotions extremely well."_

"Art is whatever you wish it to be," she described, pulling on a loose strand of her golden hair, leaning against the cold and dark wall. "For some, it can be a song, a play, a story, a memory, a person, rain, moon, starts or even something as silly as love. I guess true art is different for everyone, it depends on how a person perceives it."

Finishing her explanation, Naruto felt another wave of awkwardness come over her, and she rubbed her neck self-consciously, choosing not to look at the other blonde before her. She followed Katsumi's advice, so the only thing she could hope for now was not getting blown to smithereens.

"Is senpai making friends?"

Both blonds turn to stare at the vast blackness before them where a dark cloaked man stood shrouded in darkness, an eerie shadow falling on his orange mask from the light of small torch burning on the wall.

Something inside Naruto suddenly snapped; an unexplainable sense of dread filling every marrow of her body, almost forcing her to turn around and run away. Blinking in confusion, she shook her head slowly, trying to get rid of weird sense of danger that suddenly flooded her body, making her muscles tense against their own accord.

Deidara suddenly sneered at the orange masked man.

"Tobi. I'm glad you decided to join us," he said, a sadistic glint in his eye as he gestured for Tobi to come closer. "Why don't you come closer and meet her too, un?"

Tobi suddenly twitched, happily flapping his arms around he ran towards Naruto, making her cringe back as he snatched her hand in his, shaking it ecstatically.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Tobi and I'm a good boy!" he screeched, cheerfully.

Naruto blinked owlishly, unsure how to respond to man's cheerfulness. It was odd to see someone so hyper and seemingly happy, especially after all the seriousness and death glares she received from others.

"Ano…it's nice to meet you too," she mumbled, feeling uncomfortable since he was still holding her hand in a tight grip, clearly not letting go. She twitched a little, feeling the warmth of his hand seeping through his glove and into her skin. "My name is Naruto," she added, guessing that he wanted to hear her name, resulting in him not releasing her hand sooner.

Tobi looked like he wanted to say something again, but Deidara cut him off. "Tobi, tell me, what were you thinking when you decided to paint my room, yeah?"

Tobi as if caught stealing a cookie from a cookie jar, froze, probably already guessing what fate awaited him. Noticing the murderous look on Deidara's face, Naruto turned to Tobi, who already looked freaked out even with a mask on; it was rather easy to read his body language.

"Tobi, I suggest you run," she recommended, giving the masked man a small push.

Without a second to spare, Tobi took off in lightning speed, leaving a small trail of dust behind him. Still, it was not fast enough as Deidara quickly threw something towards him. She grinned when she realized that it was a tiny clay bird that was quickly catching up to a fleeing Tobi. Before he could even realize what was happening, the birds' body collided with Tobi's cloak, resulting in small but noticeable explosion. Hearing shouts of horror from Tobi, Naruto began laughing loudly, falling back to rest against the nearby wall. Deidara too was smirking, mirth and smug satisfaction shining in his visible eye. His eye suddenly turning to rest on Uchiha's new student, noticing that she was wiping a single tear of delight that escaped her eyes from laughing so much.

"I like you, un." he suddenly said, making the girl halt and look at him, a clear look of surprise on her face. "You know how to laugh, yeah. Unlike that stuck up Uchiha bastard that has a stick so far up his ass he—"

She cleared her throat loudly, cutting him off, and gestured towards a door to her right. Deidara's jaw clenched shut when he realized that she was motioning towards Uchiha's doors. Of course it made sense for her to be living next to her new teacher. With a single nod, Deidara decided to let it go; he was more than sure she got the idea about his and Uchiha's loving relationship anyways.

"So would you like to see how I make my clay art?"

A sudden look of joy painted the younger girl's face, causing Deidara to blink from a sudden change. Never has he seen someone so excited to see his work, it actually felt rather _nice_. Even Sasori, who appreciate his art more than others, never cared much about his clay work before, mostly because he believed that puppets were a more beautiful form of art.

The girl nodded eagerly and Deidara motioned for her to follow him. On the way there, the two shared small pointless chatter, making Deidara think that maybe Itachi's new student wasn't _that bad_.

However, he couldn't help but to feel sorry for her. He knew that she was completely unaware of their plan to kill her, and sooner or later it would happen and Deidara felt a smallest smudge of sadness for her. But the real reason why he pitied her was because she was Itachi's student. Everyone knew that Itachi was cruel and showed no mercy, and Deidara was more than aware that this girl would be no different. However he had seen her strength once, back when she was still in her old body. So, maybe, _just maybe_, she still had a small chance of surviving, no matter how unlikely it seemed.

Because if she didn't improve quickly enough, she won't last a week under Itachi's ruthless training.

* * *

Naruto was swimming deep in her dreamless slumber when she felt a mild disturbance in her room. Choosing to ignore it, she snuggled closer to her pillow, a small content smile on her face.

"Get up," a voice ordered, seemingly out of nowhere.

Her body jerked lightly, but otherwise remained unresponsive as she continued sleeping.

"_Get up_," the voice ordered again, this time a small shake was added. Grumbling in frustration, Naruto pulled away, blindly swatting the hand away from her.

"Katsumi…_ngh_…five more…minutes…"

She suddenly felt her hand being grabbed into a tight grip and with a sharp tug, Katsumi pulled Naruto from her bed, making her fall on the ground and grunt in pain.

"Katsumi, you bitch, that hurt! Do you know—" she snarled, rubbing a tender spot on her head but when she looked up, the insult all but died in her throat.

For standing before her was not Katsumi, but instead certain crimson eyed Uchiha.

_Oh, shit._

"Erm…gomen?" she whispered meekly, quickly pulling herself up.

"Get dressed and meet me in the north training room in five minutes," he ordered, leaving no room for arguments, if his icy tone was anything to go by. With those words he left her room, letting Naruto to take a calming gulp of air.

_Well that was embarrassing_, she thought dully, snatching her clothes and hurriedly pulling them on. The last thing she wanted was for the stoic Uchiha to come back while she was changing.

After getting ready so quickly that it made the speed of light look slow, she ran towards the training room, silently wondering just how early it was, considering that no one else was around.

She found Itachi standing in the middle of the spacious room, his crimson eyes watching her as she made her way towards him. Suddenly, with inhuman speed, he threw a kunai towards her, making her gasp and dodge, resulting in her falling to the ground heavily.

Breathing heavily, she turned to look at Itachi who hadn't moved a single inch from where he was previously standing. Her eyes moved to look behind her and found the kunai that he threw at her now wedged deeply in the wooden door she stepped through only a minute ago. A silent tremor passed through her body when she realized what would have happened if she hadn't dodged at the last second. Or rather, what would have happened if Itachi actually aimed to kill her.

"W-why did you do that?" she demanded shakily, struggling to stand up, adrenaline still fresh in her veins. He gave no reply until she managed to walk closer towards him.

She rubbed her shoulder absentmindedly, pondering how it was sure to bruise after taking such a fall.

"Because to teach you, I need to know your current level," he replied, giving her a brief explanation. She nodded, and realized that after today, the bruise on her shoulder will probably be the last thing she would need to worry about.

"How about we just start at zero, Level Zero," she suggested, still rubbing her shoulder.

"In Akatsuki there is no such thing as Level Zero." Itachi deadpanned, his cold eye challenging her to say anything else.

Naruto gulped.

"A-alright then, boss, give me your order," she exclaimed, clenching her fists, preparing herself for anything.

Itachi stared at her for a long minute, as if seizing her up, before two words left his lips. An order clear as a day, but not the one Naruto expected:

"_Attack me_."

* * *

**AN:** _Hello!~ How are you guys, hm? This chapter was a bit slow but I wanted to set the atmosphere since living in Akatsuki isin't going to be easy by any means. I actually really dislike stories that make Akatsuki seem like a happy bunch of nice people who sell cookies - they're murders for Christ sake! So, yes, my take on Akatsuki will be slightly darker, but don't worry they will not be torturing innocent people or sacrificing puppies, but they will mean business._

_Also, I'm very glad I got to write Tobi and Dei-dei in this chapter, originally they only would have come in around chapter 8-10 but I made a rash last second decision, and I think I made a good choice by adding them in early. Plus, Naru needs at least someone to get along with, so unlike almost everyone else in the base Naru and Deidara will be alright from the the start. ^^ _

_Also, someone mentioned something about Sasuke, and I can tell you that, yes, Sasuke will be in the story but not until WAY later. He will play a major role in the story, obviously._

_And lastly, Thank you everyone who reviewed this story, this means a lot to me, so thank you again! Next chapter should be, hopefully, out in the next two-three weeks. But if you review I may try harder to update quicker since last chapter reviews were kinda disappointing... =P_

_Regards._

**_A._**


End file.
